Last December, Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of aiding her late ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein, in the sexual abuse of underage girls. She was accused of grooming four minors for Epstein between the years 1994 and 2004. After five days of deliberating, a jury charged her with five, out of the six, counts that she was facing.
Just two days shy of her sentencing date, the former socialite has been placed on suicide watch-- even though she is not suicidal. The 60-year-old was supposed to find out her fate on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. Up until now, she had been staying at a federal facility in Brooklyn.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Her attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, found out that she had been placed in solitary confinement at the facility, and is now urging for her court date to be pushed back. A hearing will be held tomorrow (June 27), in which Sternheim will attest to the fact that her client had been removed from the general population "without having conducted a psychological evaluation and without justification."
Strenheim also mentioned that she met with Maxwell, and reiterated that she saw no signs of suicidal behavior in her. She also stated, "If Ms. Maxwell remains on suicide watch, is prohibited from reviewing legal materials prior to sentencing, becomes sleep-deprived, and is denied sufficient time to meet with and confer with counsel, we will be formally moving on Monday for an adjournment."
According to CNN, federal prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Maxwell to 30 to 55 years in prison, claiming she "made the choice to sexually exploit numerous underage girls." Her lawyer, however, is urging for 4.25 to 5.25 years, blaming Maxwell's actions on her stressful childhood and her being under Jeffrey Epstein's control.
Epstein, who committed suicide in a prison cell back in 2019, was a sex offender who was found guilty of procuring underage girls for prostitution and sex trafficking and awaited sentencing.
